HBO Just Officially Introduced a Notorious Batman Villain to the DC Universe
Lanterns episode 3 hides a Janus Cosmetics sign that connects John Stewart’s strange interview to Black Mask, Batman, and Gotham City.
Lanterns episode 3 hides a Janus Cosmetics sign that connects John Stewart’s strange interview to Black Mask, Batman, and Gotham City.
The short version
- Janus Cosmetics is the company owned by the wealthy Sionis family in DC Comics.
- Roman Sionis inherits the business after the death of his parents, but his disastrous tenure as its leader eventually leaves it on the brink of financial ruin.
- A product rushed to market without adequate testing disfigures hundreds of customers, forcing Roman to accept a bailout from Bruce Wayne and surrender control of the company.
What happened
Roman blames Bruce for this humiliation, and in seeking revenge, he becomes Black Mask, the Gotham City crime lord first introduced by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake in 1985’s Batman #386. Janus is also the Roman god commonly depicted with two faces and associated with transitions, duality, beginnings, and endings.
Why it matters
Naming the character “Roman” as a first name and associating him with a company called Janus is a pretty on-the-nose reference.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Polygon via the links above and below.